Throw in the i-drone

The last years numerous applications for drones have been discovered in all kind of work fields. In the construction sector however the possibilities that drones can provide are not used at the moment. Drones provide the possibility to get to places that were traditionally difficult to reach. When the drone is equipped with an infrared camera four main issues in the construction industry can be studied as will be done in the “Throw in the i-drone” project.

First of all the drone could be used to measure the temperature of asphalt. Paving at the right temperature is crucial to meet the desired quality standards.

Secondly a drone can spot deficiencies in the insulation of a building. The connection between a wall and the roof is traditionally a location that is vulnerable for thermal bridging. This place is difficult to measure with a hand-held infrared camera, but can easily be reached by a drone.

Furthermore a drone can detect damage to solar panels by checking the surface temperature. This is not only an issue for dwellings, but also for bigger solar panel fields. The inspection of such fields takes a lot of work, while a drone can do this much quicker.

Finally a fourth possibility would be to trace illegal building activities with drones. For inspectors many places are not reachable, while from the air this can be seen. At the moment however the legislation makes it difficult to explore this last option.

Participants

Project initiators:

dr. ir. A.G. (Bram) Entrop

University of Twente

Ir. E.R. (Eric) van den Ham

Delft University of Technology

Project members:

Ir. A. (Alexandr) Vasenev

University of Twente

dr. ir. A.G. (Bram) Entrop

University of Twente

Ir. E.R. (Eric) van den Ham

Delft University of Technology

Dr. R.M.J. (Regina) Bokel

S. (Sander) Mutsaards

Delft University of Technology

BeemFlights

Planning

The project team will start with setting up a website and studying current applications of IR mapping. Several preliminary tests will be conducted to concentrate on the most promising aspects of assessing temperature profiles. The outcome of these tests will assist in establishing the optimal strategy to cover different tasks in the construction industry. Given the potential of this technology, we will actively disseminate the research highlights, procedures, and results by continuously updating the project website. In addition, the research results will be integrated into education programs.

Project phase

Time period

1. Setting-up a website and acquiring additional contacts

February 2015

2. Literature study on the best available practices in agriculture and geo-mapping domains.

March 2015

3. Developing an approach for the construction domain to adequately map temperature data obtained with UAV

April-May 2015

4. First set of tests (during the warmer season)

June-July 2015

5. Analyses of the data from preliminary tests

Aug 2015

6. Optimizing the initial approach

Sept 2015

7. Second set of tests (during the colder season)

Oct-Nov 2015

8. Analysing the data, writing reports and updating website.

Nov-Dec 2015

Infographic

Apparatus

An image of the apparatus will be uploaded soon. At the moment the researchers are still discussing with Height-Tech about the protocols that will be used to for testing.